Not As It Seems
by writeinspiredraw
Summary: Two shot set during and after 13x24. Tony and Tali reunite with their missing piece of their family. Rated T to be safe, is all.
1. Chapter 1

**(A/N): alrighty, here we go! First of all, let me say I'm a big Ziva fan, and I kinda fell out of watching NCIS a few episodes after she left, but I did watch a few here and there, but wow those episodes leading up to and including that finale! Woah! However, I don't believe she's dead, especially from a few things:**

 **1) There was no body, DNA or anything. I use the Pretty Little Liars rule "if you don't physically see a body, they're not actually dead"**

 **2) Tony's face when he smelt Tali's things, leading me to believe that there wasn't any smoke in the things, despite Orli stating that Tali was in the house**

 **3) Tali's beloved Kalev (her stuffed dog) was in the go bag… That doesn't sound right to me**

 **4) Tony's words when he tells Gibbs he's quitting "Ziva loves Paris" loves, not loved hmmm…**

 **There are more, but these are the most prominent. So, this is how I think it should happen. This is set during and after 13x24 and will be part one of a two shot. Part two will take place ten years later, despite my cliffhanger at the end of this chapter. Trust me, it will make sense once I post part two. Okay, so I think I will quickly do some translations for you so you're not too confused reading this as parts are in Hebrew:**

 **Mami = baby**

 **Tsaphah = look out / look / to see**

 **Motek = sweetheart**

 **Toda = thank you**

 **Ani ohevet otach = I love you**

 **Yalla = let's go**

 **Alright, I think that's it. So, I hope I did this justice and I will get part two up asap so you all can finish reading my little foray into NCIS fandom. Oh yeah by the way, I don't own NCIS.**

 **Not As It Seems**

 **Chapter 1**

"Mami, time to go!" Ziva David told her two year old daughter, Talia David-DiNozzo as she pushed a photograph into her go bag along with her scarf and Tali's stuffed dog, Kalev. Tali ran up to Ziva and tugged slightly on her pant leg, pointing to a window.

"Tsaphah Ima!" Tali insisted, pointing at the window again. Ziva frowned, picking up her daughter and holding the little girl close to her as she approached the window Tali had pointed out, glancing carefully out of the pane of glass.

Her eyes widened as she spotted the same jet high above the farmhouse that her daughter had seen moments before. Tali, of course, had taken the airplane in the most innocent sense, loving anything that flew in the air, but Ziva knew why any aircraft would fly over this specific place.

Hurrying back away from the window, she threw the rest of the things needed into the go bag and made her daughter put on her light green jacket atop her dress and leggings. "Tali, listen to me. You are going to America, to Aba. Do you understand?"

"Aba?" Tali repeated innocently.

"Ken, Aba, mami." Ziva pressed a kiss to Tali's forehead before showing her the photograph of Ziva and Tony in Paris. "Show Aba the photograph, motek. Show Aba, okay?"

"Aba? Ken, Ima." Tali nodded seriously, though Ziva could only hope that her daughter understood what she was doing. Ziva hadn't told Tony about their daughter, though she had regretted it. At first, she hadn't told him for she knew he would be on a plane straight back to Israel but then when she'd finally thought that she should tell him, she thought he would have moved on, and didn't want her daughter hurt if he shunned them. Hurt for herself, she could handle, but if anyone hurt her daughter…

She grabbed her phone and dialled Orli. "Orli, I need you to pick Tali up now. There's an unidentified aircraft above the farmhouse. I need Tali safe."

 _"Of course Ziva. And where am I taking her?"_

"To DC. It is time that Tony knew about our little mami."

 _"If you are sure. I will be there soon."_

"Toda, Orli." Ziva hung up and paced the floor before her daughter and the bag they'd prepared. Sighing, Ziva zipped up the bag and shoved the Paris photograph into the side pocket. "Ani ohevet otach, motek."

Tali ran to Ziva's legs and hugged them tightly as Orli stepped into the farmhouse. "Ima?" Tali asked, stepping back and glancing between Orli and Ziva.

"Yalla, Tali!" Orli stated, grabbing the go bag and picking Tali up around her waist, both women wanting to cry at the heart-wrenching sob Tali let out at being forcibly separated from her mother.

Orli sent Ziva a compassionate look as she took Tali from the house, the little girl screaming "Ima!" at the top of her lungs all the way to Orli's waiting car.

Ziva waited for the car to depart before grabbing a couple of fake passports along with her real one, her emergency cash and a change of clothes, throwing them all into a smaller go bag with a picture of Tali. She threw the bag to the back door and grabbed her weapons from the wall safe she us housed them in ever since her daughter was born. Checking that they were all in working order, she settled in for the wait. She just hoped that Tony and Tali would be able to meet her in Paris.

…

Tony sighed, running a hand over his weary features. Tali had had another restless night, screaming for her "Ima" every five minutes or so and pointing insistently at the photograph of them in Paris. He sighed again. Part of him was angry that Ziva hadn't told him about Tali, whilst another part of him understood and was thankful that she'd made Orli take Tali to him in the event of her death. Her death. Tony still couldn't believe that she was gone. It seemed too… Quick, too simple. There was no physical evidence, yet everyone had simply accepted that she was gone. They'd been slower to accept it when she was in Somalia, despite being told that she was dead then too. He maintained then that he would feel it if she was dead, and he maintained it now. And it didn't feel like Ziva was dead.

He picked up the photograph and ran his fingers over Ziva's frozen, smiling face. Then he frowned. Why did the photo seem ill fitting in the frame itself? He flipped it over and undid the back of the frame, blinking as a piece of paper fluttered out of the space between the back of the frame and the back of the photograph. With shaking hands, he picked up the scrap of paper, eyes watering as he made out Ziva's swirling handwriting.

 _T, I love you. Bring Tali to where we were back then. I'll meet you there. Z X_

Tony blinked at the note. What? Making up his mind, he grabbed his phone and booked two plane tickets, one for him, one for Tali. To Tel Aviv. Orli had some explaining to do first.

…

Orli looked up as Tony waltzed into her office, Tali perched on his hip and playing with Kalev near his ear. Tony shot her a warning look as he set Tali down onto a chair. "Is she really dead, Orli?"

Orli sighed. She knew she'd get a visit from him sooner or later. Standing up, she gestured for Tony to follow her to the opposite end of the room to the obliviously playing two year old. "I received a phone call from Ziva the night of the attack, asking me to pick up Tali. I did and she told me to take her to you, explain to you who she was. Half an hour after leaving with Tali, the farmhouse was in flames. I do not know where Ziva is, or if she is alive. Please, believe me on that." Orli glanced back at Tali. "I fed the news the story of there being one survivor, Tali, because I did not know at the time if they had been intending to kill Ziva. If she is alive, she no longer has a target on her back. If she is dead, then nothing really changes, does it?"

Tony growled a little, angry at Orli's interference. "And Ziva not telling me about Tali?"

"She wanted to, she did Tony. I swear." Orli sighed. "She told me that if it was meant to be, you two would find one another again eventually. I tried to find a way to get you over here, but your director and Gibbs stonewalled me each time. That was not on my head." Orli placed a hand on Tony's arm. "If you think you know if she is alive or not, or have any inclining as to where she's gone, then go. What more do you have to lose?"

"Tali."

"You will not lose your motek. Ziva will never take her from you and I doubt you would withhold her from Ziva either. Here," Orli reached behind him and grabbed a stack of cash from a shelf, "take this. And go before people begin to ask questions. I wish you and Tali all the best, Tony."

"Thanks, Orli. How do I tell Tali that it's time to go?"

"Yalla means let's go, if that is of any use to you."

Tony nodded and strode over to the two year old. "Tali, yalla."

Tali nodded, jumping up at taking her father's hand, clutching her dog in her other hand. "Ken, Aba."

…

Ziva sat impatiently at the tiny table at the just as tiny Parisian café, blowing the steam off a hot chocolate and watching the passers by. She'd been sat outside the café every day for just under a week and knew she would sit outside the café forever if she had to. She wanted her life back. She wanted her daughter, and she wanted Tony. She wanted her family.

"Ima!"

Ziva jumped a little as a smal body jumped onto her lap. Looking down, tears fell down her face faster than Niagara Falls as she wrapped her arms tightly around her daughter's slight form. "Mami, my mami." She cried into her daughter's hair, stiffening as she felt someone watching them. She glanced up, her features softening as she saw Tony stood on the other side of the table almost awkwardly, a go bag in hand and Tali's stuffed dog in the other.

"Ima, Aba!" Tali proclaimed loudly before burying her face back into Ziva's neck, tiny arms wrapped around Ziva's neck. Ziva stood awkwardly, trying to hold Tali and adjust her without jostling the two year old too much.

"Tony." Ziva breathed out, standing less than five inches from the former NCIS agent. Tony blinked at hearing his name from her lips once more, after so long of only hearing it in his dreams.

"Zi." He lunged forward, engulfing his daughter and the woman he still loved in a tight embrace that Ziva returned with a free hand she managed to remove from her daughter's back. After several moments, he pulled back, both irrationally missing the sense of security they'd felt in the others arms. "We need to talk."

 **To Be Continued…**


	2. Chapter 2

**(A/N): alright, here is part two! I'm not sure how this turned out, because I could have gone on forever with this, I really could have. But, I had to end it somewhere, so, yeah, I hope it's alright. Yeah… Still don't own NCIS or anything you recognise, blah blah blah, so read on and enjoy**

 **Not As It Seems**

 **Chapter 2**

 **Ten Years Later…**

"It's been ten years, y'know, since… Tony quit." Timothy McGee mentioned to his long time girlfriend Abby Scuito as both sat in the latter's lab. A lot had happened in ten years. Tony and Tali had disappeared for over a year and when they came back they seemed changed, happier, but in a more guarded way. They had still visited NCIS quite regularly until about five years ago, when Tony had burst out at them that the way they were skirting around Ziva and everything else was annoying him, and to find him again when they could just act normal around him once more. No-one had dared to go after him and gradually they'd all fallen out of touch with Tony and Tali. McGee and Abby had been dating for just over eight years and were expecting their first child in three months' time, taking a leaf from Tony's book when he'd told them that love shouldn't be left to the last minute, that it should be forever treasured. "D'you think we should…"

"We should go see them." Abby nodded decisively. "We'll grab Palmer from the morgue in an hour and drive over to Tony's, picking up Ducky and Gibbs on our way." Gibbs had finally retired two years earlier, handing his team over to McGee, whilst Ducky had officially retired four years ago. Still, they all kept in touch and Abby was certain that they'd all want to help Tony and Tali on the ten year anniversary of Ziva's death.

"Abs, just… Tony may not want to see us." McGee cautioned.

"Pfft, so? We are going because Tali lost her mother and Tony lost the woman he loved. We are going because we're all still friends and friends help one another." Abby placed her hands on her hips and glared at McGee. "We are going."

"Alright, alright. I'll call Gibbs and Ducky and let them know."

"Thanks Timmy."

…

"Tali!"

Twelve year old Talia David-DiNozzo glanced up as she left her middle school building, a black backpack slung over one shoulder. Her once blonde-brown hair had darkened to a chocolate brown colour and had curled into ringlets to her middle back, her sharp green eyes still identical to her father's. She wore a plain black t-shirt and denim shorts with black converse high-tops. She grinned as she saw her father stood beside a black sedan, waving to her. "Aba!" She called out, running over and hugging him tightly.

Tony smiled, hugging his daughter back, his cheek pressed to the top of her head. It had been ten years since he'd first met his daughter, and though he hadn't known about her before, he was glad for how involved in her life he was now. "How was school?"

"Boring." Tali scoffed. "Where's Ima?"

"She's still at work. I thought we'd go surprise her and maybe we could all stay home tonight and I could cook us up a pizza." Tony fiddled with the gold ring on his left ring finger. He'd married Ziva seven years ago, with Orli acting as the officiate for them and Tony's dad and Ziva's Aunt Nettie acting as witnesses, with Tali being the flower girl and ring bearer all in one. After spending a year in France with Tali and Ziva, Tony had moved his family back to DC, where he worked as a training officer at Quantico, and Ziva taught martial arts at several gyms and government agencies. Neither had tried to hide Ziva from the world, but surprisingly, no-one really registered who she was anymore. She still got the occasional offer to work for the FBI or the CIA, but she always refused, stating that she loved the life she already had too much to consider going back to law enforcement or spy work.

"You mean grab one from the freezer and put it in the oven?" Tali returned dryly, shooting Tony a knowing glance. Tony shrugged.

"Homemade garlic bread though."

"Sounds good."

"Alright, yalla." Tony grinned at her. "See, I do recall some Hebrew."

Tali rolled her eyes as she slid into the passenger seat of the sedan, waiting patiently for Tony to climb into the driver's side and turn on the ignition. "I never said you didn't, Aba."

"No, but I know what you and your Ima are like." Tony replied, signalling out into the traffic surrounding the school. He would admit that things had been rocky for he and Ziva for the first six months or so, until they'd had a huge fight and got everything out into the open, finally realising that the other still loved them and both were sorry for any hurt they caused. After that, they'd decided to start again relationship wise, and he gone from strength to strength. The only source of tension arose when Tony would take Tali to NCIS. Tony had tried to tell them all that Ziva was alive, but could never get the words out as he was constantly interrupted whenever he attempted to bring her up. Ziva was hurt that they didn't want to know she was actually alive, and Tony was annoyed that they wouldn't allow him to explain and tell them the good news. Five years ago, he'd finally blown up at them and told them that if they would just stop dancing around the subject of Ziva, then they wouldn't be so oblivious and to get back in touch when they could act normally around he and Tali once again. None of them ever had. Sighing, Tony pulled into a parking space at a classy, upscale gym and parked up, smiling at Tali. "Let's go find Ziva, okay?"

"Ken Aba."

…

McGee pulled up outside the suburban one storey house that had served as Tony's last address. Abby had double checked his bills and statements and found that he still lived there. Abby sat in the passenger seat whilst Gibbs, Ducky and Palmer sat in the back, Palmer sat uncomfortably in the middle of the two older men. "Alright, here we are." McGee parked the car and all five got out, McGee helping Abby from the car when she complained about its difficulty with her baby bump.

Together, they moved up the front path and knocked on the front door. After several seconds it opened slightly to reveal Tali stood in the doorway with a suspicious expression. "Can I help you?" She asked, distrust clearly seeping into her tone.

"Tali, don't you remember us?" Abby asked, furrowing her brow, hurt that the girl possibly had forgotten about them. Tali frowned for a second before her expression cleared, distrust replaced by a pointed glare.

"Aba!" She called back into the house before turning back to the visitors. "What do you want?"

"We're here to see you and your dad, Tali." Gibbs told her bluntly.

"It's been ten years." McGee tried to add helpfully. Tali's face went blank.

"I know how long it has been, thank you." Tali stepped away slightly as Tony approached the door, wiping his hands on a dishcloth.

"Guys, what're you all doing here?"

"They can to see you and I, because it has been ten years. If you're inviting them in, can I go up to my room?" Tali informed him concisely. Tony shook his head firmly.

"No, you can't." He leant forwards to whisper in her ear. "Your Ima may need your support."

"Oh. Okay. I'll wait inside then." Tali disappeared into the house, leaving Tony to sigh and address the people on his doorstep.

"So, you guys are here because it's the anniversary of-"

"You meeting Tali for the first time." Abby interrupted, thinking that she was saving Tony the heartache of remembering the other anniversary. Tony sighed once more but opened the door wider.

"Yeah, there's that. Come in, but I swear, anyone starts yelling or being cruel then I have no problem in throwing you out." He ignored the confused and hurt looks he received as he let the five adults into the house, closing the door behind them all and making his way to the front of the crowd. "This way." He led them into a spacious open plan living room, dining room and kitchen area, gesturing towards the living room part, where Tali perched nervously on a black leather armchair, Ziva perched just as nervously on one end of a spacious matching black leather couch. Tony heard five gasps as he left them where they stood to approach his family. "Hey sweetcheeks, I assume Tali told you."

"She did." Ziva confirmed, smiling a little as he kissed her cheek tenderly, sitting down beside her and linking her hand with his own.

Gibbs was the first to recover from the shock of finding a supposedly dead woman very much alive. "What is going on here? Ziver?"

"Gibbs." Ziva returned calmly, though she felt anything but calm.

"You're supposed to be dead." Palmer blurted out, covering his mouth with his hands as soon as the words slipped out. Ziva looked amused as Tony snorted a little laugh. Tali simply rolled her eyes.

"I know, Jimmy." Ziva assured him, her grip tightening on her husband's hand. "I sent Tali away to keep her safe. I did not know at the time that I was reported as dead."

"Uh, my dear, is this appropriate to discuss in front of the young one?" Ducky asked, nodding at Tali, who let out a short laugh.

"I am fine. Ima and Aba have had this discussion many times in my presence. I don't care." Tali waved it off easily. She'd grown up knowing about her parents and their lives, plus her first few years and how her parents had finally become a real couple. She genuinely didn't care because it was in the past, and she knew they loved each other unconditionally in the present.

"Tali's fine." Tony assured them. "Orli lied to us. She grabbed Tali from the farmhouse at Ziva's request, before any flames erupted. Orli brought her to me, and we met Ziva later."

"Where?" McGee asked.

"Paris." They answered in unison, sharing a quick look filled with love and contentment. Tali rolled her eyes again.

"Get a room."

"We have one thank you." Ziva returned easily.

"Not what I meant."

"Then you should be clearer, mami." Ziva stuck her tongue out at Tali, who responded in kind, before both burst into laughter at the absurdity of their conversation. Tony smirked at his wife and daughter.

"Uh, wow, I just…" McGee trailed off, unsure what to say.

"How could you not tell us?!" Abby burst out, unable to hold it in any longer. Ziva's face became a blank mask, Tali jumped off the armchair to stand in front of Ziva protectively, and Tony's face looked like thunder as he stood up to join his daughter.

"Don't start, Abby." Tony warned.

"No! You all lied to us! For ten years!" She was working herself up, ignoring McGee's attempts to calm her down. Tony practically growled as he stepped forwards.

"Abby! Have you ever thought that you didn't know because you never gave us a chance to tell you?!" He yelled over her, finally making her quieten. "Everyone interrupted us when we tried to tell you, and we weren't subjecting Zi to you until wed at least told you."

Ziva stood, slipping her hand into Tony's and wrapping her arm around Tali's shoulder. Her family. "I hated that I had to send Tali away, but I always hoped that I would have my family back one day. They are my life, my world, and I would be nothing without them. You can be happy for us, and we will tell you as much as we can about our lives for the last ten years, or you can leave. It is your choice."

…

"So, you guys are married?" Palmer asked many hours later. After the shock of Ziva's ultimatum had dispersed, everyone had voted to stay. Tali had gone to bed an hour earlier, claiming to be bored, though a small smile indicated that she was leaving so they could all have conversations that the NCIS people would be uncomfortable discussing in front of her.

"Yeah, seven years now." Tony smiled to Ziva, who smirked in return.

"We did not have a large ceremony. But it was perfect all the same."

"I'm so happy you you guys!" Abby cried, dabbing at her eyes as she smiled widely at the couple.

"So, you two, three, are really happy then, aren't you?" McGee asked, smiling between the pair, his hand firmly clasped with Abby's.

Both nodded, not taking their eyes off one another. "Yes." They replied in unison.

Ziva pressed a light kiss to Tony's lips. "It may be surprising, but we are content. We are happy. The circumstances in which it all came about may not have been conventional…"

Tony smiled and finished her sentence for her. "But we wouldn't change it for the world."

 **The End.**


End file.
